BACKGROUND

Who was John H. Webster?
John H. Webster was a pharmacist from Scotland who immigrated to Canada in 1953.  During his professional life in Scotland he worked for Boots The Chemist (one of the largest chains in the UK at that time) and was noted for his outstanding people skills. 
 
Upon his arrival in Canada he pursued his career in pharmaceutical sales and began working for National Drugs, Canada’s largest drug wholesaler (National Drugs was purchased by McKesson and formed the basis for McKesson Canada).  He won numerous sales awards and ultimately became the National Sales Manager and helped to grow National Drug’s pharmacy partnership programs.  
 
During the early 1970’s he was introduced to the emerging concept of “Consulting Pharmacy” in the USA and was convinced it was the way of the future for community pharmacists.  Initially he tried to get National Drugs to pursue “long term care” pharmacy services, but when he was unable to convince them of its merit, he left and in 1973 he introduced the PCI Controlled Dosage System to Canada.  It was the first time “blister cards” as they were known, were used in Canadian nursing homes.  Initially, pharmacists didn’t readily accept the idea, so he opened a pharmacy to fill and supply the Manrex blister cards to nursing homes throughout Winnipeg to prove the merit of the concept.  As the nurses began to see the value, safety and efficiency of this type of carded system and the early adopter pharmacies realized the system’s potential for rapid prescription growth, the system very quickly became the “industry standard” for over thirty years across Canada. The Manrex system proved to be so valuable, that it was used throughout the world including the UK (through his former employer, Boots the Chemist), Malta, and Australia.
 
John H. Webster was more than anything, a visionary and an innovator, in many cases years ahead of his and the pharmacy market’s time.  He was one of the first to introduce computers to pharmacy (Datapharm Systems), developed computerized medication administration records for use in long term care, introduced nearly thirty years ago the first computerized handheld patient charting under the CompuCare brand, developed continuing education programs for both nursing and pharmacy, introduced one of the first “Smart Cards” in healthcare for electronic patient records and was one of the first to bring automated dispensing systems to Canada’s acute care hospitals (Meditrol, ultimately purchased by Cardinal Health).  John was always looking to the future for products and ideas that would help his customers and their clients achieve better health through improved medication management.
 
As a long term member of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP) since 1973, John was convinced Canadian pharmacists should develop a similar association to give voice to pharmacists dedicated to long term care and he founded the ACPC (the Association Of Consultant Pharmacists in Canada).  Manrex offered to donate the name and charter rights of ACPC to the current association but ultimately the “Canadian Society of Consultant Pharmacists” was chosen. He believed in the importance of advocating for pharmaceutical leadership in the provision of geriatric care in Canada.
 
Today, over forty years later, Manrex Ltd. continues to follow John H. Webster’s vision of providing products that focus on medication error prevention in acute care, community care and long-term care settings.  Manrex is privileged to be able to contribute in his name towards improved health care for the elderly through an annual award supporting new CPCAC pharmacists interested in geriatric care.